Cruising Twitter I came across an RT of someone looking for a person who had used social media to find a new position and who was over 40…. hmmmmm. I sent a reply to the writer, and the result can be read on Fast Company!

Shareology notes we are thisclose to April and several of her favorite events, including #minnebar, #wordcampmsp and #Inforum2013. So of course, you are polishing your Before, During and After tweets, n’est pas?

What are Before, During and After tweets? Shareology is more than happy to….share…her recipe for event success.

Before Tweets take place BEFORE the event. With only 13 days left until minnebar, now is the perfect time to be looking at #minnebar on Twitter. Those in the Twin Cities who are leading a session are already tweeting the topics they’ll present. Other first-timers are tweeting to introduce themselves to the group and start conversations before heading to Best Buy HQ on April 6. Before Tweets help you meet people who you can meet IRL in just 13 days. One of the most fun Before Tweets for me resulting in meeting a great PR guru dude in the making at Alphabet Bash. It’s been great fun ever since to meet him for coffee and follow his career through Padilla and Target!

During Tweets are tweeted during the event. RTs or retweets are super cool, too. Try to pick those tweets that are insightful or funny; retweeting everything is spammy behavior. One of the best tweets (Was it mine? Was it another woman’s?) was at #minnebar, marveling that it is one of the few events in the world where the line is at the Men’s bathroom. Yay for fewer women nerds and no lines!!!

After Tweets allow you to follow-up with the people you met at the event, or even better, to follow-up with those you missed and want to get to know. Very powerful!!

So if you think events are using twitter only during the event, expand your horizons and add in Before and After Tweets to your mix!!! You’ll enhance your appreciation of the event and your relationships, both old and new. Now if you’ll excuse Shareology, she has some Before Tweets to publish before #minnebar!!!

Like this:

…along with 11 other individuals….telling a positive story about persistence!

A couple of thoughts before I send you to the article and three pictures…

A quote from the article, on newsstands this week:

“Each story is unique, yet there are common themes: feelings of uselessness, the disturbing ease with which one’s professional identity slips away, the humiliation of asking family or friends for a loan, and, finally, the rewards of adaptability and persistence.”

Shareology did not experience the first three above; she is a huge believer in persistence!!

When you click on the pictures, mine is in the bottom row, in the middle. By clicking on me on the lawn of the Science Museum (superimposed with a picture of my cube and chair at Infor) you will come to a 2nd and third photo. In the actual article on newsstands is a 150 word summary. Each photo also has a caption.

The great thing is that ProductCamp MN and SMBMSP got super mentions. (Although if I had been given the captions to proof, I would have made the reference to SMBMSP a tad more precise.)

I spent 4 hours with the photographer, Josh Poehlein, and time on the phone with the reporter, Katherine Reynolds Lewis. I have seen so many success stories in the last three years, and they do go under-reported. Hats off to Businessweek for highlighting how networking can lead to new adventures!!

Update June 6, 2012:

Found the issue on the stands last night.

Disappointed at first that my picture wasn’t on the cover.

Flipped through to discover I’m a centerfold.

Yep, my photo is spread over 2 pages. Definitely LOL. Yep, that’s why I got the MBA: so I could be a centerfold in Businessweek. Loving it!!!!

Once upon a time, there was a princess who wanted to grow up to be a social media rock star. She wished upon a star, but alas, there was…..nothing. She knocked upon door after door; she met for coffee with every social media person in her land.

In her networking quest, she came upon an event called Product Camp. Off she went, at 7 AM in the morning to knock upon the doors of the castle called St. Thomas. Alas, the castle was locked but another princess was also looking for a way into the castle. “Come with me” Princess Networking said as she led her new friend into the unlocked front door of the building. It turned out that her new friend was speaking twice that day on social media and Princess Networking made sure to be in the audience for each session.

Later that week, Princess Networking connected with her new friend on the magic LinkedIn; she also set up a meeting for them at the castle known as Starbucks.

Still later, Princess Networking got an email from her new friend. “Would you be interested in working for my boss? She’s in need of a Princess such as you….”

One thing led to another and now Princess Networking has a new opportunity in life, because she knocked on one more door, and because she never, never, never gave up.